Sunday, February 27, 2011

Oh this is real! And totally stupefying! I have always wanted a Pirate Spider!

Visiting my local Toys R Us yesterday, I thought I would branch away from the stuff I usually get. I was walking by the more nerdly science toys, when a couple of misplaced spiders caught my eye. The blue Octane racing spider, and the green Tango soldier spider. Neither really bit me, but the pirate spider on the back of the box said look for more. I had to look around the store, and I finally found the official spot, and there was Red beard!

So what do these Tarantula's do? They creepy crawlin', that's what. Well, that's what the box said, and I am always a sucker for the box misinforming me. I imagined they were made of a really soft NASA plastic, with highly intricate robotic legs that would scurry the spider about.

Instead it was just a hard plastic spider with wheels on the bottom. :(

Okay-Okay, once my initial disappointment was over, I got to know what it really does. It is sound activated, so when you clap or cough or yell, it rolls across the floor a few feet and stops. Actually pretty cool. Did I mention the eyes light up red? The cat kind of liked it, for thirty seconds. What really sells it though, is the whole dress of the spider. Really, have you ever scene a Tarantula with a Polly Parrot, Pirate Hat, Pirate hook, and Pirate tattoo?

So yeah, for $9.99 is it worth to have in the old insane collection? They sell a small crate for it to live in, but thats another $9.99 for just a plastic box? Okay. So, that's my story of Red Beard the Pirate Spider Tarantula.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I am home today with a slight fever, and bored, so there is no stopping what stupid things I can do. Like opening a toy from ten years ago. Ten years? Holy Crap, I can't believe its been that long since these guys came out!

But, first I had to find the figure I was thinking about...

Hey! Thats where Saruman and Archer were hanging out! I should open those in about ten more years.

There we go, Man-At-Arms from the early 2000's line of far superior Masters of the Universe action figures, (that Mattel so stupidly buried for the Batman license). Just to be safe, I just checked his ebay value, and its running around $20. Of course, after this opening, there will be 1/100,000 less Man-At-Arms in package, and my review will spur interest, and the value will jump to $200, but I will take that chance.

So there he is, finally out of the box! Not a bad figure at all. I really like the slightly exaggerated proportions of these guys, makes them total action figure bad-asses. I think a common gripe about these figures where the extended neck face deal, but with Man-At-Arm's face shield its hardly noticeable.

Pop on his weapons and he's even more Bad-ass. A large future mace weapon, and arm cannon with projectile. There are about 12 points of articulation on these figures, not as much as the new guys, but still plenty for plenty of action. In some ways I prefer less, as they are less likely to fall over in some weird way, because of some weak joint. The lower joint count also helps keep them inline with Original Masters of the Universe toys.

His back has a tiny hole to hold the gun, and check out those stylish Shadow-Beast Underwear, all the rage of Eternia. With the press of his back button, the action feature arm swing goes underway, for mace to skull bashing.

From this angle his eye looks really messed up, but rest assured its okay.

I admire his face sneeze shield, I could use one of those this week.

I added him to my Grayskull scene up on the top shelf, he really helps complete the good guys. And yes, I really need to remove that Baseball wallpaper, which dampens the dreary mood of Castle Grayskull.

Totally glad I opened him. I would say 9 out of ten My Little Ponies for a figure score. Maybe I will open Trap-Jaw, if this cold continues.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

In a bright spot of not that many upcoming cool toys year, we have some more updated classic Transformers. Tracks! Tracks! Yes I am excited for Tracks! I relearned who Tracks was when I bought season 2 part 2 of Transformers Generation 1, last year. I had forgot about him, but once I saw the flying blue car again, a flood of memories came back. Now a few months later, he gets his own updated toy, yeah!

If you get this far Transforming him, you have to push on through, because you are almost there!

Yeah, Tracks! Overall, a pretty good classics figure! He's pretty intricate, but not in a bad way. The instructions are solid, and helped me out a bit. He does have a flying car mode too, but neah, not so great. His car and robot form are spot on for my tastes. So now its time to look for more classics, Jazz, Wreck Gar, Wheeljack, and my favorites Grapple and Thundercracker (sniff-sniff my first Transformers ever).

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I was more interested in the car than the bikes for the new movie, it was different and future pretty. Again, I found a steal of a deal (which is making my less toys this year goal fall apart). Thats 50% of of 15.97, so about $7.99. At that price, this thing could be a POS and still be the best toy ever made.

After opening, my first concern was that the finish would be prone to finger prints. I was relieved to find the plastic cheap and already full of mars, so anything I do will be hard to see. Its a pretty heavy car, mainly for the batteries in the back? It feels like there is lead weight back there. My second concern was how fast does it go? Looking at those big round wheels makes one think this thing will glide across the room without a sound. Pretty much the exact opposite, it moves a painful few feet, with sounds of grinding, chaffing, and scratching with a pretty substantial push. They also missed a neat opportunity with the axil arms not being able to lift the car up an inch off the floor, for rugged carpet terrain. The arm supports are there, they just don't move.

A neat little gimmick up front, panels that open, and springing guns pop out. They look cool, but my right side panel pops off when I go to open it. Not really a bad thing though, I like them.

The cockpit, canopy, hood, top thingy lifts up to fit figures. The toys fit okay (better than some vehicles out there). Maybe because they left out a floor, and sides. The action figures backs plug into the car for lights, but so far, I get the same effect as pushing the button on the back of the car. Anyone get a different effect, let me know. The instruction are like fifty pages long, but no help at all. I do appreciate that it fits two figures. Too many times designers cheap out, and fit only one figure (90's Batmobiles).

As you can see, if you drop your drink, you do not have to worry about your car's floor interior. No cup holders by the way.

Yeah, its that hard to take a photo with the lights going at the same time. I finally timed it by pressing both my camera and the car button at the same time. I dig the back end of this vehicle, very future like. Just don't look at it in certain angles, or it might appear to look like Ace and Gary's Ambiguously Gay Duo car (you'll probably want go google that now, just be forewarned).

One of the better features of the car is the front shocks, would you call them? There is a nice 45 degree tilt either way for the car to do tricks with. The rotation is solid, and holds strong. By the way, the little side fins behind the front wheels are really fragile feeling, and don't do anything except hold a spiffy emblem.

Next to the A-Team van it looks really weird. Which ride would you choose?

I may have mocked the Light Runner a bit in this review, but actually I like it even with all its faults. It's so different than many of the other vehicles I own, it will get a special place on the shelf. It also fits as an anchor to my Tron Legacy collection. Now the fight will begin as who gets to drive it. At least until I find a Quorra figure.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

I gotta say, I actually dig some of the small scale Tron Legacy figures. Of course, finding them on clearance already, for $3.50 a piece, makes them much more likable. I'll say my usual stuff, good articulation (except for hips), good likeliness, and fun play with these two. They light up for a few seconds with a push of a button on their back.

You do have to look carefully at your choices in the store though. Rinzler's paint doesn't completely cover his light inside his torso. His right middle torso glows slightly, which kind of annoys me. Maybe some flat black spray paint...

Their display stands are nice, which help get them in many game like positions. If I can find a cheap-o Clu to add, I will. These will fit nicely in the 3 3/4" scale stuff that I typically horde.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Okay, a few director's edits and its REALLY ready to go this time. Sorry to leave you all in anticipation. For the five of you who saw the sneak peak, please enjoy this polished production in all its glory. For the rest of you five, please enjoy this life changing race.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

So yeah, had this idea in my head for awhile, and finally got to film it. I wanted to get a different color Hot-Wheels Go-Karts, to make things easier to distinguish, but since I never would order one, I felt I would never do the vid. So I made the video anyways. If this one takes off view wise, I plan to do a sequel, so I will get more kinds of cars for it. Enjoy, and share with your friends! And be kind to my spelling errors, if you can find them :)

OKAY, the spelling error was really getting to me, and a critical missing quote. Will re-tool, and have it ready tomorrow. So who go to see the lucky sneak peak? :)

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

I suddenly realized the other day I never bought any Indiana Jones Legos! I played the Nintendo DS game thoroughly, then lost focus on the actual sets. I really wanted the Indiana Jones/Dad motorcycle pack, but at this point I'll take anything on the shelf. Thankfully, Toys R Us still had a few sets. The Ambush in Cairo set isn't a bad second place, as it has many key minifigures, only missing a monkey!!! I will have to get one then.

How cute, does everyone look!

Its also pretty neat that this set integrates well with my other Adventure themed Legos. Look how the street fills up with many neat characters and situations!

Monday, February 07, 2011

Oh Dan, What have you done? Speaking purely from a health perspective, when I found my forth Tonka Truck at lunch today, I decided to ask if they had the rest. They did, and I am now spared eating what ever is in these "Happy Meals".

The Glacier Digger fills the ice, snow, cold theme of the Tonka Truck line. It features a huge tire upgrade on the back.

Pop off the back tire, and snap around the two back tires for extra grip. The front grill snaps down, lifting the front wheels off the ground, creating a ski sled front (it took me a while to figure that vs a shovel front).

Sunday, February 06, 2011

I really shouldn't be blogging right now, I'm a little "Dizzy" after watching the Packers hold on and defeat the stinky Steelers! Finally I win a Super Bowl, after a few bad years! What better way to celebrate than to show off the mighty Juggernaut! I have down well resisting these incredible Marvel Universe figures up until late, until now. I just couldn't pass up on Juggernaut, he is so well made, and looks just like he should look, no figure flaws what so ever.

My best recollection of Juggernaut was from a 1990's X-Men episode. You know the one where they had trouble defeating him, until one smarty X-Men guy was like, "We have to do this as a Team!" So Like, Wolverine used his claws to take off Juggernaut's helmet, while Jubilee distracted him with fireworks, while Jean Grey got in his mind, while.... Who else did what, I am "Dizzy" and blanking on it.

Uh-oh, Looks like Lego Army Men want a piece of him. I wouldn't do that Lego Army men...